Public universities with campuses in urban, low-income neighborhoods have an opportunity and civic responsibility to engage with the K-12 schools, non-profits, and community-based organizations that directly serve their community. However, many community-engaged administrators and scholars are working with limited budgets and without formal…

Merrimack College is a midsized Catholic Augustinian College pursuing its historical service-based commitments while shifting priorities toward research. With limited time and resources, these two aims can create tension at institutional and faculty levels. This single institutional case study shares the work of faculty and College leadership to…

Interest in universities as anchor institutions within their communities and cities is growing as civic leaders search for ways to build local wealth. Systematic analysis of the effects of anchor institution initiatives remains difficult due to the disparate nature of anchor initiatives and a relative lack of a shared language describing the work.…

As poverty and inequality continue to plague American cities, universities and hospitals are looking for ways to leverage their role as community anchors to address these issues. Local procurement programs have emerged as one way for institutions to build local wealth and create jobs. In order to increase the impact of individual institutions,…

Understanding the role of local resources in enabling or constraining the development of entrepreneurial activities in urban communities holds important implications for community placed-based initiatives led by urban universities. This article analyzes the societal and interpersonal factors that affect the outcomes of an entrepreneurship center…

Within promotion processes, research universities traditionally place highest value on grant funding and peer reviewed publications. In contrast, community-engaged research tends to value community partnerships and direct community benefit. Community-engaged early career faculty can have difficulty negotiating the demands required for promotion…

Lessons from the work of the eleven Urban Educator Corps member institutions are outlined. They include the necessity to create strong partnerships, foster university leadership and address a compelling local need. Successful initiatives build strong financial networks as well as connect the classroom with the community and with parents and…

Historically Black Colleges and Universities have many organizational characteristics and challenges similar to those of all urban and metropolitan institutions: to serve increasing proportions of first-generation, multicultural students from diverse, often disadvantaged backgrounds while also contributing to economic and community development.…